I have finally quit Evony (formally Civony) after spending ridiculous amounts of time on it. I mean, it was fun while it lasted and I have no regrets playing it, but the game is getting too irritating (unbalanced battle engine, frequent server crashes, whiny people in world chat, ridiculous price tags on cash items) so I’m off!

If you’re thinking of playing it, don’t.

It’s fun for a start, but it’s also annoying as heck and you’d really be better off investing that time on other games, in the long run.

I’m sorry to those who joined the game at my recommendation. *lol* Sorry!

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Table of Contents

1. Preview: inFAMOUS
2. Time Wasters by Swordplay
3. Plantronics GameCom 777
4. Results of last week’s contest
5. Win inFAMOUS postcards and poster!!

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Preview: inFAMOUS

I’m really excited about this game. I had the opportunity to preview it at a media event a few days ago, so I made a video of the gameplay!

inFAMOUS is a sandbox-style multi-genre game. You play Cole McGrath, a bike messenger who unwittingly delivers a bomb that blows up Empire City. Miraculousy, you survive the blast and, even more miraculously, you gain the power to manipulate electricity.

The game is open-ended in the way of Grand Theft Auto. There are main missions that follow the plot, but you can deviate from them any time and do sub missions or just run around electrocuting people for fun.

The news gets out that you’re responsible for the destruction of the city, so people around you are wary or hostile. But you can increase your karma by healing people with your electrocuting powers (acting like a human defibrillator) or choosing morally-upright paths in missions.

Or you can just be a bad ass and destroy everything that gets in your way.

Karma affects the kind of skills you get. Good karma gives you more helpful skills such as healing. NPCs will also come to your aid during battles if you’re generally a good guy.

Bad karma gives you more destructive power but also makes everyone fear and hate you, so you become more vulnerable.

What’s great is that you don’t have to stick to a certain path for good. You can adjust your karma as you go along by just making decisions differently.

Cole is also quite the acrobat, so you’ll find that you can climb walls and leap between buildings. According to the devs, every object you see in the game that seems climbable will be climbable, which gives you a lot of freedom to explore the game any way you like.

There are also RPG elements. You gain experience points for killing, healing, doing stunts or performing missions. Points are used to upgrade your chosen skills or stats.

Apparently, there are 70 different skills you can have by the end of the game, all revolving around electricity.

Unfortunately for me, inFAMOUS is a PS3 exclusive title. I would love if it were on the Xbox 360 because I need more achievements for my Xbox!

By the way, for a limited time only, pre-order inFamous at any Sony Style or partner shops to receive a set of limited edition inFamous postcards.

Or take part in this week’s Gamer Girl Friday contest! =)

inFAMOUS will be launched in Singapore around May 26, 2009.

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Time Wasters by Swordplay

Swordplay is my pesky li’l bro who spends all his time playing time-wasting games. To make him a little bit more useful, I’m sitting on him and making him recommend one fun and simple web-based game each week.

This week’s game: The Arrow of Time

After centuries of peace and isolation, the Sky Fortress of the Whistle Knights has been found! It’s up to you to defend against the invading forces of mankind, with only your bow to help…

Buy and level up unique and devestating weapons, combine them in any way you like to create your own custom powers, deploy cunning defensive upgrades… the tactical possibilities are endless!

With an original and epic score from Evan Merz.

The first load takes a while (1-2 minutes) but it’s worth it. For a flash game, The Arrow of Time looks pretty polished with a beautiful soundtrack and pretty watercolour drawings. It’s also fun!

Using your mouse to draw your bowstring, with the freedom to dictate angle and strength, you shoot arrows at waves of enemies to protect your base. After each wave, you gain points with which you can upgrade your arrows and defences.

Different arrow types give you different kinds of animation effects which are really cool to watch.

Really great game! Wish I had more time to play it! =)

Remember to buy/upgrade stuff after every wave. I forgot, and then met with a boss mob that was immune to the current arrows I had. LOL. That was my signal to stop playing and come back to working on GGF. =)

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Plantronics GameCom 777

The good people at Plantronics Singapore recently sent me the coveted GameCom 777, which is the world’s first surround sound gaming headset. What a gorgeous piece of work it is!

Featuring Dolby Headphone technology, this headset is a great investment for MMO gamers for whom audio communication is required.

Comfort 7/10

Comfortable with good ventilation and cushioning, it doesn’t get warm or cause any uncomfortable pressure even after long hours of use. The only downside is that it’s pretty heavy (more than the average headset) and you will be able to feel the weight the moment you put it on.

Sound 8/10

Using only a single driver to create a 5.1 surround sound experience, the GameCom 777 seems to lose out to other headsets using multiple drivers, but it’s decent enough for you to hear all the background sound effects clearly. Game music and special effects sound great through this headset.

Vocals are crystal clear, although hearing someone speak in surround sound is a little weird, sort of like having voices talk in your head. But that’s a matter of preference and can be fixed simply by turning off the Dolby processor when talking.

The bass is pretty nice. Just don’t expect to get the kind of boom you would get if you had a 12″ sub woofer behind you.

Mic 9/10

The mic picks up sound pretty well, too, even when you keep it hidden in the strap. Speaking of which, the mic can be discreetly folded into the strap, which means that if you didn’t know beforehand, you probably won’t know where to find it. I guess that adds to the headset’s sleek design.

It is also a convenient factor, adding to the comfort level, because sometimes you just don’t want something dangling there. Also, you can’t lose your mic, unlike some headsets that use detachable ones.

Durability and Usability 9/10

I haven’t used it long enough to accurately judge its durability, but it feels firm and durable. Because the GameCom 777 comes with an in-built sound card, you could actually use this in lieu of the normal sound card and speaker setup. Simply plug it into a USB port and you’re good to go!

I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t have a sound card in their system, but if you don’t have one, this headset is an excellent alternative.

The GameCom 777 is available at The Software Boutique, Tec Drome, E2Max, Game Haven, IAHGames Cafe and Comics Connection. It might be sold out now, but a new shipment should be arriving early next month.

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Results of last week’s contest

Wow, it’s V Power this week!

Mr Randomiser gets flirtatious and wheels out two ladies with V names! Sorry, dudes!

Veronica and Val win a Monopoly Deal Shuffle Shaker each!

Congratulations, ladies! Please e-mail me to arrange for the collection of your prizes. Thank you!

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Win inFAMOUS postcards and poster!!

I have two sets of inFAMOUS postcards and one inFAMOUS poster (small one – 42cm x 29.7) to give away this week!

I love the postcards with the grungy artwork. They’re truly masterpieces!

(Just a heads-up. The actual colours in the postcards are a lot duller and darker than what appears on the photo, making them look more grungy.)

I would keep a set for myself but then I have no idea what to do with them. So, it’s off to you guys!

The poster looks like those you’d see at gaming shop entrances but, what the heck, I’m sure someone out there likes to collect such stuff.

So… up for grabs!

Please post a comment here indicating whether you’d like the postcards or poster. You can ask for both. I’ll do two different draws for each item.

Closing date is May 28, 2009, 11:50 pm.

Winner of poster will need to self-collect at a central location.

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HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

I’ll be playing X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I’m getting to like the game more and more as I advance. I am actually bothering to learn all the endless special combos, something totally unlike my playing style cos I usually hate memorising combos. But Wolverine is FUN!

The graphics is a little slipshod, but the gameplay more than makes up for it. And the combo animations are really quite awe-inspiring. Getting through challenges and killing enemies is so satisfying that I’m smiling like an idiot while playing the game. When I’m not screaming in shock at ambushes, that is.

Playing the game is like watching extra scenes of the movie because there are different plot twists in the game, and you learn facts about Wolverine and background info about the story that you never see in the movie. I LIKE!

I’m so in love with Wolverine that I just ordered the X-Men trilogy on Blu-ray from Amazon, even though I already have X-Men 2.5 on DVD.

Insane!